[1] MA in English

[1.1] Objectives

The Master of Arts (MA) program in English is designed to prepare students for work on the doctoral level and to enhance the knowledge of subject matter for secondary school teachers.

[1.2] Program Admission Requirements

In addition to meeting the general requirements for admission to graduate school, the student must present satisfactory scores on the General Section of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). (See Admission to Graduate Study.) The English department recommends a minimum of 153 on the Verbal Reasoning portion of the GRE. Further, the student must have earned a minimum 3.00 GPA in an undergraduate major or minor in English literature to gain regular admission to the program. Finally, a student must show the equivalent of one year of undergraduate foreign language study, or must remedy this deficiency before the MA Comprehensive Examination is taken. The English department requests that applicants supply two letters of recommendation and a 7-10 page writing sample with their application.

Those international students required by the university to submit TOEFL scores for entrance to graduate study must score a minimum of 600 on the written exam or 250 on the computerized exam in order to gain admission to graduate study in English. Further, the student must attain a minimum score of 5 on the essay portion of the exam.

For conditional admission to the program, consult the department chair or graduate coordinator.

[1.3] Degree Requirements

Candidates must fulfill one of the following plans:

Non-Thesis: Satisfactorily complete 30 hours of English and pass a comprehensive examination based upon the department’s Master’s Reading List.

Thesis: Satisfactorily complete 24 hours of English, pass a comprehensive examination based upon the department’s Master’s Reading List, prepare a thesis for which 6 hours of credit are earned, and pass an oral examination over the subject matter of the thesis.

In both plans, at least 15 of the student’s 30 hours must consist of 6000-level courses. All students pursuing the MA are required to pass ENGL 5360 (History and Structure of the English Language), ENGL 5366 (Literacy Theory and Criticism) and ENGL 6393 (Research Methods in English). The department strongly recommends that ENGL 6393 be taken at the earliest opportunity.

Upon acceptance into the graduate program, each student will be advised by a member of the department’s graduate faculty and will procure a Master’s Reading List from the departmental secretary. At or near the end of the candidate’s program, the Coordinator of Graduate Study and members of the graduate faculty will give the student a comprehensive, written examination. If the candidate’s performance is unsatisfactory, the student may be re-examined during one of the regularly scheduled comprehensive exam periods.

Should the student elect the thesis option, he or she will select a major professor to direct the thesis. When the thesis is submitted, an oral examination will be given by a committee composed of the major professor, a member of the graduate faculty (to be appointed by the departmental chairperson), and a member of the graduate faculty from outside the Department of English.

[2] Graduate Courses in English (ENGL)

Follow this link to ENGL course descriptions: course link.